Kill the Past
by pkpulakkmr
Summary: Tatsumi turns himself in, hoping to turn First Order General Esdeath to his side. She has plans of her own, however. Based on The Last Jedi.


"I'm impressed, Tatsumi. To think you'd go so far for me." Esdeath said as he was brought before her in handcuffs.

"I had to repay you, you know. I used to think your resolve was unshakable, that you'd never falter on anything. But I'm the exception to that, aren't I? If you wanted me that badly, despite me choosing the Jedi, it's only fair that I come to you."

She turned around and headed for the throne room. Tatsumi was pushed to follow.

"It's ironic, how quick you are to parlay with your enemy's general, even as the Rebels are taken down by our men. Not to mention the First Order soldiers you've killed."

"I have nothing against you personally, Esdeath. Just the First Order, and the Dark Side. It's the corruption that I want to extinguish, its purveyors are just a symptom."

"Then I was right." Esdeath lowered her gaze and smiled. "I too agree it's a time for new beginnings, Tatsumi. I've done my best to survive with the cards I was dealt. But with you, there might just be another way. A better way."

"And what kind of way are you talking about? I came to you as a Jedi, to give you another chance! Please don't throw that away!"

"I know, and I'm grateful for your consideration. But I'd like you to consider opening your mind a little. Don't worry, once all this is over, that won't be too hard."

As she finished, the door to the throne room opened, and there sat the Supreme Leader of the First Order, Honest.

A burly man with a scraggly beard and a vicious gaze, he hungrily looked upon Tatsumi, as a predator would to a prey. This was far from out of the ordinary for a man like him.

"Ah, my worthy beloved General!" he beamed gleefully. "I'm so glad you delivered! I know your training wasn't smooth, but now more than ever, I know you never lost sight of what matters, Esdeath."

In response, she simply bent the knee to her master.

"Now then, young Tatsumi. Welcome to the apocalypse. The end of the Jedi, the Rebellion, and all your foolish notions of justice are finally at hand!"

Honest flicked his fingers, causing the handcuffs to fall off.

"How about you make yourself at home, child? Come a little closer."

"I fail to see the need," Tatsumi said, with an icy stare. "I can hear you just fine from here."

"Ah, and the spirit of rebellion is alive and well within you, I see! Funny, I thought it was the Sith who relied on their passion. The Jedi are supposed to be beyond petty considerations such as longing, or vengeance, aren't they? And yet that firestorm is all I sense within you."

Honest then leaned forward, his jovial demeanor quickly morphing into a cruel, murderous one.

"It seems your teacher didn't do a very good job with you. Now, _come closer."_

Against his will, Tatsumi was dragged right over to the Emperor's carpet. It was not a painless experience.

"Now, we have meticulously finished what Order 66 started, eliminating the deluded zealots who believed that the powerless had any right to get in the way of their betters. And with your help, I will personally drive the final nail into their pathetic little coffin."

"Go to hell. You don't know me, Honest." Tatsumi said, his tone cold and venomous.

"Oh, I don't? Well, then I suppose it must have been your long-lost twin who communed with General Esdeath through the Force. Who fell for her charms after realizing she had a soft spot for him and convinced himself that maybe, just maybe, he could get her to turn against me."

Tatsumi could feel his windpipe tighten. Honest was choking him. Not enough to be life-threatening, of course. Just enough for it to hurt.

"I linked you two together, you fool! I knew she was conflicted about you, and I knew you felt the same way! And so I pushed your little love affair along, knowing that she was too strong-willed to deny her feelings. And you too weak-willed to resist yours."

"Well, from a certain point of view, I guess you could say it was the other way around!" Tatsumi said, his tone childish, and his eyes hateful.

"Trying to be funny, are we?" Honest gave a sharp push that dragged Tatsumi to what seemed like a mirror. Only it wasn't. It was a viewing port.

One where he could see the Rebel fleet trying to escape...and getting blown to pieces, one by one.

"That pitiful rebellion is the only real joke here, boy! They will all die, as will you when I get everything I need from you! In fact, I hope you resist further! It'll make everything so much more painful!"

"GO TO HE-AAAAAARGH!" Tatsumi's rage gave way to a blinding pain as he could feel Honest probe his mind. It was a violation, an assault unlike any other he'd experienced. His own boiling rage had become the vulnerability Honest used to penetrate his defenses.

"Yes. YEEES!" Honest proclaimed as he dragged Tatsumi back to him. "In just a few moments, the remnants of the rebellion will be vanquished! And then we'll go to Ach-To and obliterate the island your dear Najenda's hiding in!"

"YOU BASTARD!" In desperation, Tatsumi used the Force to seize Esdeath's lightsaber, startling her. He then activated it and made a run for Honest, even as the Royal Guard moved to intercept him.

"No need, guards." Honestly motioned for them to stand aside as he coolly blocked Tatsumi in his tracks.

"You've entertained me considerably with your hysterics, boy. But my patience is at an end now."

With another flick, Honest deactivated the lightsaber and pushed it back to Esdeath. He then moved Tatsumi until he was facing her, inches away. Tatsumi's face was contorted in pain and anguish.

His own confiscated lightsaber was still by Honest's side.

"Now then, my dear Esdeath. It's time to complete your training and fulfill your destiny!"

"I know, master." Esdeath stood up, clutching her still-sheathed lightsaber.

"Goddamit, it can't end like this!" Tatsumi's desperation was evident for all to see. There was no way. No way he could've misjudged the situation so badly!

There was no way...

"Accept your failure, young Tatsumi. Do you know why you will die here? It's because you don't know Esdeath the way I do! You don't get to see inside her mind, read her every wish, her every intention!"

Honest was right, Tatsumi couldn't read her mind. But he still believed in her! He wouldn't have believed in her without a reason...right?

"Esdeath is a warrior, Tatsumi! Her gaze does not flinch as she readies her saber to strike through! Her mind does not doubt when it comes to annihilating those in her way! And there is no safety, no sanctuary for those she has deemed her true enemy! They won't last another sec-KHHH!"

Honest looked down to see Tatsumi's lightsaber split him apart. It was the last thing he ever saw.

Tatsumi looked up to her, his expression a mixture of shock and amazement.

"E...Esdeath..."

He felt the cold lightsaber handle slam into the palm of his hand. Esdeath must have done that.

To arm him against the Royal Guard baying for their blood.

"NOW, TATSUMI!"

They both covered each other's backs as they faced off against the vengeful enemies in red. He fought with everything he had. Knowing that she was on his side, there was no doubt left in his mind. Only a fierce determination to survive, and to protect her.

She too felt the same way.

And so they fought relentlessly even as they were outnumbered, and backed into a corner. They sprang back and took the guards down. One by one.

She was the experienced General, peerless in combat, her strength, and tenacity unparalleled.

He was the passionate apprentice, adapting to every situation in a heartbeat, evolving his technique with every swing of the lightsaber.

And together, they slashed and pushed and improvised. One guard fell down a reactor shaft, his body disintegrating. Another was bisected through his legs.

One held Tatsumi in an armlock, so he dropped his lightsaber into the other arm, ending the fight with a fatal upwards slash.

He then saw Esdeath struggling against the final enemy, who was trying to slit her throat.

"HERE!" he deactivated his lightsaber as he threw it to her. Esdeath used the momentary distraction to flip the handle around and reactivated it to that it burned a hole through her attacker's head.

And just like that, they'd made it. Honest was dead. His guards were dead.

The First Order, as everyone knew it, was no more.

Tatsumi rushed over to the viewing port.

"The dreadnaught is still firing at the fleet. Esdeath, you call it off, and I'll go back and tell them what happened!"

"There's no need for that, Tatsumi."

"What?" he turned around, shocked. "Esdeath, what do you mean?"

"I mean, it's time we moved on, Tatsumi. It's time for a new beginning."

His heart sank as he heard those words. "Oh no. Don't tell me that's what you meant, Esdeath, I..."

"You need to understand this, Tatsumi. The Sith, the Jedi, the First Order, the Rebellion? They're all just excuses! Excuses we've made to keep fighting each other! Why do you think that is?"

"I...the First Order wants to finish what the goddamn Empire started, isn't it?!"

"It's even simpler. People want to fight because they want to prove their strength. Because deep down, we all know we need to be strong to survive! We need to overcome adversity to have any place among the living! By proving ourselves, by becoming powerful, that's how we survive!"

"We survive by protecting each other, Esdeath! Those transports are defenseless! If we don't act...!"

"We will protect the people, Tatsumi!" she said, cutting him off. "But only those who are worthy! Those who can help themselves! All my life I've been surrounded by weakness! People with weak minds and hearts sowing chaos throughout the galaxy! I had to claw my way to the top of that world because I wanted to create a better world not just for me, but for the strong among us! When our best minds and hearts come together, the possibilities are endless! But for that, we need to let the past go. We need to let this cleansing fire burn and purge what's holding us back!"

"A cleansing purge?! Is that what you think this is?! Letting my comrades just die is a cleansing?!"

"You're wrong, Tatsumi," Esdeath said, her tone more soft and loving than ever. "They're not your comrades. You were just a tool to them. A means to an end."

"W-what are you...?"

"You survived your early days in a backwater planet, through your own strength and resourcefulness. Did you have anyone who was there for you? Were even your parents there for you?"

"My...parents...?"

"I've looked into it, Tatsumi. I've done everything I could to understand you because I knew I couldn't let someone with your potential go to waste! But you don't need me to spell it out, do you?"

"E...Esdeath, please..."

"You have only thrived in spite of how the world treated you, Tatsumi. I know I'm not wrong about this. Your parents..."

"...they abandoned me. They were just some...forgotten junk traders."

"Forgotten, and worthless. They sold you off and spent the money on drinks, preferring to drown in their intoxication than take responsibility for you. They're buried in a pauper's grave somewhere in the Jakku desert. There was no grand destiny you had to fulfill. There are no duties tying you down. You've just allowed everyone else to manipulate you. You came from nothing, and to them, you may as well be nothing when they can't use you anymore."

She stepped forward and extended her hand. "But you're not nothing to me. You're a survivor, a testament to the power of hope and determination! You're the man I love!"

He looked up to her, his eyes widening in shock.

"Come with me, Tatsumi! We know better than anyone else what it takes to survive, to overcome! We can build a new order! One where the strong and the great can thrive, free from the burdens of the weaklings and traditions holding them back! We will liberate this galaxy, Tatsumi!"

"Do you...really think it's that simple?"

"It is! Life is so much simpler than we allow ourselves to believe, Tatsumi! With a clear heart, we can do anything! You can do anything!"

Some of those words did click with him. Yes, perhaps things were simpler than he was being led to believe after all.

"Esdeath...goodbye."

Her eyes widened in shock as she saw him pull the lightsaber towards himself. Desperately, she used the Force to counter him and pull the lightsaber towards herself instead.

It was stuck between them, not moving in inch.

It was she who looked shocked, shaken and conflicted now.

His resolve, however, had never been clearer.

And yet it took him everything he had to match her strength. A strength that nonetheless could not overpower him.

It seemed as though Esdeath had, despite it all, accomplished but one of her goals. She had unleashed Tatsumi's potential.

And it was under the indomitable power of the man and the woman that the lightsaber strained, cracked, and finally exploded.

The true victor of this final bloodless duel would only be determined by who woke up first. Who acted on their mission first.

Esdeath opened her eyes to see Tatsumi nowhere to be found. The corpse of former Supreme Leader Honest beside her. Admiral Syura staring her down, a suspicious glint in his eyes.

"He's gone, isn't he?" she said.

"Yes, he took Honest's escape pod. I'm presuming he's the one behind this mess as well."

"That he is," Esdeath said, as she slowly got up. "And before you get any ideas, Admiral, I saw you fiddling with that blaster right as I opened my eyes."

"That's preposterous, what are you-khhh!"

She was choking him.

"I hope we're clear on who's calling the shots around her."

"Crystal." Syura sputtered out, and she released him.

"I know where he's headed," Esdeath said, her tone completely icy and professional. "It's the Rebel base."


End file.
